Sharing is Caring
by LiKaTaSa
Summary: Soo... The twins love the same girl. Crap. This girl is the first one to see them as the people they are and has opened their eyes to the world around them, but she might be the one to tear them apart. Double crap. They have no idea what to do. (Ohkay, this is HikaruxHaruhixKaoru meaning they're all together... so if you dont like don't read... . )
1. Crap

"Kaoru..."

"Yeah Hikaru?"

"You were right."

"...I know."

Hikaru's head shot up at Kaoru's calm voice. "You aren't upset?"

Kaoru raised an eyebrow at his twin's shocked voice. "Of course not. I've seen this coming since that first day when Haruhi kicked us out of the changing room and you had that huge blush on your face. We realized she was a girl at the same time, but you reacted to it with more than just surprise. You actually seemed happy about it. I didn't get it at first, but then as we got to know her... and she got to know us, I realized that you were starting to do something neither of us have done. You developed feelings for someone outside of our world."

"I didn't like her that way at first."

"No. You just thought of her as a friend. But you like her now. You've liked her since that ball when she kissed Kanako. I saw you twitch with jealousy." Kaoru chuckled at the memory and his brother's red face. Even though it's what they'd planned, Hikaru still clenched his jaw when he realized it was her first kiss.

"So you knew before I did, huh?"

"You always had the feelings. You just never understood them."

Hikaru dropped his head into his hands. "I'm sorry."

"What?" Kaoru looked over at Hikaru in surprise.

"I know you like her.." Kaoru turned to his brother with wide eyes.

"What? No I don't! Wha-"

"Don't. I'm your brother, Kao. If you were able to figure my feelings out, you know I know how you feel." Hikaru said with guilt and irritation in his voice.

Kaoru looked down at his feet. So Hikaru knew. Maybe he wasn't so dense. "I don't have feelings for her."

"Yes you do. Stop lying to me."

Kaoru bit his lip. Hikaru ran his hand through his hair.

"So when did you know?"

Kaoru looked at his brother out of the corner of his eye. "What do you mean?"

"How did you figure out you liked her?" Hikaru said with a small amount of bitterness in his voice. Kaoru couldn't blame him. Kaoru was just as upset that they both liked the same brown-eyed goddess.

"When she called Tamaki out that first day.."

Hikaru turned to him with wide eyes. "You knew she was a girl before me?"

Kaoru blushed and shook his head. "No. I completely believed she was a man. But... I was still... you know... into her."

Hikaru stared at him for a second before it clicked. He smacked his forehead and laughed at himself. "No way! I can't believe I didn't know you were... Wow. I guess I'm a pretty awful twin, huh?"

Kaoru wrapped an arm around his brother. "Nah, I'm sure there's a lot about you I don't know. Yet."

Both brothers chuckled then separated, choosing their own side of the bed.

"What now?"

"I don't know."

The twins looked at each other.

They both loved the same girl. And they couldn't share her.

But it wasn't fair. The first time someone was able to tell them apart, to really get to know him, and one of them was going to lose her. If either of them even got her.

No. It was Kaoru or Hikaru. No one else could have her. If Hikaru didn't get her, then he'd only trust Kaoru to treat her right. If Kaoru couldn't win her, then he'd only trust Hikaru to take care of her.

It was Hikaru or Kaoru. No one else could have her.

This is the first time they'd had to fight each other to get something. This was not going to be fun.

The only thing they could hope was that they'd still be as close as they were when one of them got her.

* * *

"Mommy! The twins are being evillllll!" Tamaki whined and ran from the twins who carried pairs of scissors.

Haruhi watched them as they ran around the music room and only shook her head. "Those three are such idiots."

"Yes. I'd have to agree." Haruhi gasped and looked behind her to meet the gaze of Kyoya.

"Damn it, Kyoya! You scared the life out of me! Don't do that!" Haruhi chastised him. Suddenly she felt two elbows leaning on her shoulders.

"Hmm... Is the Shadow King being mean to our toy? That isn't nice Kyoya." The twins said in unison.

Kyoya chuckled and adjusted his glasses before responding. "I wasn't aware that she was your property, nor that I needed to inform her of my position at all times."

"I'm not their property." Haruhi grumbled, trying to get away from the twins.

"Well you're our pet, hence, you are our property, Haruhi." Hikaru stated. Haruhi didn't notice the warning look Kaoru shot his brother and, frankly, Hikaru didn't either.

"Shut the hell up, Hikaru! I am nobody's property! You two better get that in your head before I finally slap all the thoughts out of them." She shouted and stormed out of the room leaving the room with a tense atmosphere.

"What the hell, why's she acting pissy?" Hikaru asked, trying to mask his own guilt. In reality he had no idea why he felt guilty and didn't understand why she got so upset.

Kaoru patted his idiot's shoulder. "One joke of her being a toy every once in a while is okay, but it does add up. And it was a little far to say she was our property."

As much as Kaoru wanted Haruhi to himself, his brother's happiness always came before his own and he wanted the two to have a good relationship. He also wanted Hikaru to learn how to get along with people, and Haruhi is the only person that can send Hikaru in the right direction.

"Well she is my property. She belongs to me." He said indignantly. If Haruhi couldn't tell the boys apart so easily, Kaoru would move his part and apologize _for_ Hikaru. But then, if Haruhi couldn't tell the boys apart so easily, they probably wouldn't have cared as much.

"Hikaru. You should apologize to her."

"But Kaoru!"

"Look, if you want a chance with her, you need to grow up and learn to take responsibility for your actions." Hikaru stared at his brother for a minute then gave him a suspicious glare.

"If you like Haruhi so much, why are you helping me?"

Kaoru opened his mouth to answer, but he couldn't quite form a sensible answer. So he settled for closing his mouth and shrugging.

Hikaru stared at his brother a minute longer then sighed. "Any ideas on how I go about apologizing to her?"

"How about you just say 'I'm sorry?'" Hikaru turned to his brother to make a smart retort until he realized that the voiced was smoother and more feminine that Kaoru's.

He turned to the entrance to see Haruhi, still fuming, mind you, approaching them.

"Oh... H-hey Haruhi! How long have you been listening in?" Kaoru stuttered.

Haruhi rolled her eyes. "Oh please. What is so important you'd be worried a _toy_ like me was listening in? I only heard Hikaru's last question."

Kaoru and Hikaru let out a breath they didn't know they'd been holding and then smiled mischievously at her. "We were only talking about how -"

She raised her hand to them and looked away. "If it's dirty, I don't want to know."

Hikaru laughed. "Wow, you really know us so well, Haru-chan!"

"Shut up, Hikaru. You sound like Honey!" Kaoru teased his brother.

"What's so bad about sounding like me?" Kaoru turned to see the seventeen year old boy looking up at him with watery eyes and a trembling lip.

He turned back to Hikaru for help but saw him dragging Haruhi away, covering her mouth. He cursed his twin mentally then turned back to Honey with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry Honey, you misheard me, let me explain..."

* * *

AAAAAAAND end of chapter. Wooh! New project! Yay! this chapter was sooooo hard to write, it's not even funny, bro.

Well pleeease review and then I'll give you a sparkly rainbow!

Oh, and if you didn't get the thing at the beginning where Hika was saying he was an awful twin for not knowing, I made Kaoru bi. So he was still into Haruhi when he thought she was a boy... ;) I so awesome, I know.

Well, I'll be back tomorrow! Hopefully... probably saturday though, what with conservatory. Theatre conservatory biaaaaatch!


	2. Let's Do Something!

"Hey Haruhi." The twins said at the same time with same smile on their face. The looked her over appreciatively. She had changed out of her uniform when she got home and was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a red tee that hung over her shoulder a bit.

Haruhi raised and eyebrow and stuck her head out of her apartment door to look around the brothers. They'd changed at school after the club. Kaoru had changed into a pair of red jeans and a yellow sleeveless hoodie with a black tank top that could be easily seen underneath. Hikaru was wearing some dark blue jeans that hung low on his hips and a dark green tank top. She sat back on her heels and looked at them with curiosity. "Why are you guys here? Alone. Without a flashy car."

Hikaru chuckled. Kaoru answered, "Would you prefer having all your neighbors drooling around us?"

Haruhi widened her eyes with fear and shook her head with her hands up. "No! No, no, no! I.. Thanks for considering that."

"What's that, Haruhi?" Hikaru leaned in.

"He's right, you answered really quickly Haruhi."

"Is the thought of girls all over us making you _jealous_?" Hikaru accused.

Haruhi stared at them blankly. "No. But the idea of my forty year old neighbor, Martha, all over you is very disturbing."

Hikaru wrinkled his nose and Kaoru laughed.

"So why _are_ you guys here? Shouldn't you be out having fun or something? What do rich kids do on Fridays?" Haruhi asked with an annoyed tinge in her voice.

"You pretty much just answered it yourself." Hikaru said while stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"We're here because we're _bored._" Kaoru said, resting an arm over his brother's shoulder.

Haruhi crossed her arms. "Well that's just too bad, huh?"

"Haruhiiii!" The boys whined.

"No."

"We just want to go to the movies or something!" Hikaru pleaded.

"Oh, I've always wanted to go to a commoner's theater!" Kaoru said excitedly.

"Oh, I don't know about a _commoner's_ theater. Kyoya told me that they're always dirty and crowded." Hikaru said with a wrinkled nose.

"He also thinks its weird that candy has a corn starch based and isn't generally corn flavored." Haruhi grumbled. "Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if he's never even stepped into a movie theater than wasn't emptied out just for him."

Kaoru smiled as a new plan formed in his head. He looked over at his twin and Hikaru nodded understanding the look. _Play along._

Kaoru looked away disinterested and sniffed. "Well, I think Kyoya's right. I mean, commoner's don't really have the best quality of things."

Hikaru rested a hand on his hip and nodded. "I mean, compared to _our_ quality of life, how do you know we _wouldn't_ perceive it that way? Just look at your apartment!"

Haruhi sighed. She knew what they were trying to do. "Fine. Just let me grab my purse."

Haruhi turned around but Kaoru was able to insert a question before she left them. "You have a purse?"

"Uh.. Yeah?"

"Why do you need a purse? You don't use make up or anything." Hikaru asked.

"Just need to get my contacts on if I'm going to watch the movie. And my wallet's in there." She walked away to the couch and picked up her small purse, pulling out the container of contacts.

"You don't need to bring your wallet. We'll pay for everything." Hikaru said from behind her.

"After all, we are sort of making you do this with us." Kaoru said from behind her as well.

She spun around and glared at them. "Who invited you in?!"

Kaoru wandered away to look at some photos and Hikaru sat on the couch. Haruhi stared at them in confusion. "Why are you guys settling in? Aren't we going somewhere?"

"Well, I'm assuming you need to change." Kaoru said.

"Yeah, you're not just going in a tee-shirt are you?" Hikaru said incredulously.

"I don't see how its any different from what you two are wearing. It's comfortable." She said gesturing to their casual attire.

"But you're a girl! You have so much more to show off!" They pushed her in the direction of the bedrooms.

"NO! I'm already taking you to the movies, so suck it up and deal with the fact that I don't dress like some fairy!" She snapped, pushing them away from her and walking to the door. She opened her contact container only to see she'd run out. "Great. I'm out of contacts."

"We could go get you some." Kaoru said, completely forgetting about her episode.

"No it's okay. I'll just grab my glasses." She ran back to her room and picked up the glasses. She slid them on and paused by the mirror in her room. The glasses weren't very flattering to her and for the first time since forever, she found herself feeling self-conscious about her appearance. So she walked over to her closet and grabbed a white tee that hung off both of her shoulders and hugged her torso, and a longer pink tank top that went to the middle of her thighs.

She changed and smiled at her reflection before frowning. She ruffled up her hair a bit and then exited the room, wishing she had long hair again.

"So you did change!" Hikaru said happily.

"You look nice Haruhi." Kaoru said with a light unnoticeable blush.

"Nice? You look amazing Haruhi. It's really refreshing to see you acting like a girl for once."

Haruhi glared at him before she realized that she'd been complimented. She bet that his little tag-on was to cover up his embarrassment.

"Thanks. Now let's get out of here." She said. She adjusted her glasses and tried to readjust to the weight on her nose.

"Don't worry. You look hot, glasses and all." Kaoru said and he slipped an arm around her shoulder as they left the apartment.

"Yeah. And thanks for spending time with me.. us. We really appreciate it." Hikaru said with a light blush.

She knows he isn't as used to 'thank-you's or 'sorry's or as adjusted to it as Kaoru was and she smiled warmly at him. "No problem."

* * *

AWWWWW!

So should I post the 'date-thingy' or just move on to something else? I don't know, I think I'd like to see the twin's reaction to a 'commoner's theater'

AM SORRY FOR KEEPING YOU WAITNG. I just... have no excuse. I'm lazy and get writer's block way too often. I don't think I'm cut out for it.

Anyways please review!

DID YOU SEE THE RAINBOW YESTERDAY? GAY MARRIAGE WAS LEGALIZED AND I WAS LIKE IM GONNA MAKE A RAINBOW! XD

Me SO happAY!


	3. We Don't Believe You!

"Well, it isn't as crowded as I imagined it.." Hikaru stated looking at the massive line for the tickets.

Kaoru shook his head in agreement. "Definitely more so."

Haruhi let out a sigh and turned to them, adjusting her glasses again self-consciously. "Inside is bigger, don't worry. We'll have plenty of room to enjoy the movie."

"As long as we're with you, we're fine. Don't worry about us!" They said in unison with tight smiles.

"Just trust me guys." She said. In a long two minutes, they made it to the front of the line and Haruhi was pulling out her wallet since the boys' had left theirs at their home.

"Sorry Haruhi. We promise to pay you back for this." Kaoru assured her with an embarrassed smile.

"You better." She muttered, handing over her food-money.

"We _promise_." Hikaru nudged her shoulder to emphasize his point.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go." Haruhi put her wallet away and led the two boys to the snacks counter. "We got free popcorn and I can afford some soda. Sorry, I wish we could get more for your experience but..."

"Haruhi, you really should stop worrying about us." Hikaru said leaning an arm on her shoulder.

"Seriously, we're just happy to be with you." Kaoru said, leaning on her other shoulder.

"I just know that you guys probably are gonna hate the movie I chose. In fact, I probably will too... I just got the cheapest tickets I could buy." Haruhi admitted with embarrassment. For whatever reason, she wanted them to have fun tonight. Was it to prove Kyoya wrong?

Was it because she liked the twins? Maybe she wanted to impress them? No. No way. She didn't need their approval.

Did she?

"You're such a cheap skate." Kaoru said, pecking her on the cheek.

"But you're a hot cheap skate." Hikaru kissed her other cheek, still smirking when he pulled away.

She rubbed her cheeks, feigning annoyance while smiling to herself. "Shut up guys."

They ordered the popcorn and soda and made their way to their theater. They walked up the narrow path and sat up in the back for the best view.

"Sit between us Haruhi!" The twins sat down, leaving a seat open between them.

She narrowed her eyes on them. "I'm not sitting in a dark theater between two psychopaths. Between the two of you."

They each grabbed one of her arms and pulled her down with dull expressions. They kept her down with Hikaru's arm resting around behind her and Kaoru's hand in hers. She didn't know why but she felt herself blushing at their close proximity. It was weird because they're always pulling stunts like this, ones that forced her to get uncomfortably close to them. However, it wasn't as uncomfortable as it'd be with anyone else. And that was even stranger, she'd let Kaoru lick her cheek and wouldn't even let Tamaki hug her.

She was thankful for the darkness and found herself actually enjoying the movie. The movie itself was not good at all. It was filled with bad puns and stiff actors, but soon the writing became so terrible it was hard for her not to laugh at the movie.

Hikaru looked over Haruhi at his brother raising a brow. Despite the darkness, the screen lit his brother's face enough for Kaoru to understand his brother's question.

Why was Haruhi laughing?

The movie was terrible and every joke made the boys wince. They thought this over, still staring at each other, having a silent conversation. They then came to a conclusion. Haruhi was not only terrible at acting, but genuinely believed that stiff acting was the best acting.

Their logic isn't necessarily... logical.

"Geez, this movie is just awful." Haruhi breathed, recovering from her sputtering laughs.

There goes their theory.

"Then why are you laughing so hard?" They whispered.

"Well, this probably doesn't make sense, but it's so terrible it's funny." They stared at her blankly. "When you guys dressed up like girls, you didn't exactly become girls. You guys were so sad and ridiculously dressed, the only response I had for it was to laugh. Same with this movie. It's really really bad, and it's hard to watch, so we just laugh at their attempts rather than at the jokes."

"What? That made no-"

"I think I sort of get it. It's like with the boss. He tries so hard to get you and act all smooth around you, and it's such a sad and terrible performance it's funny." Hikaru compared, crossing his arms with pride. He understood the brunette before his brother did. This was a rare accomplishment.

Haruhi nodded. "Yeah, sort of. Except I don't really find it so amusing in the moment." She muttered the last part.

Kaoru shook his head and chuckled. "The two of you..."

"Yes?" Haruhi and Hikaru turned to him with and expectant expression. Kaoru was surprised at their unison, but quickly recovered.

"Nothing." He flashed them a grin and turned back to the movie. Soon, all of them were able to enjoy their time, mocking the actors and repeating the jokes until they made some amount of sense or actually became funny. No one complained since the movie was so terrible anyways, and actually began to listen to the trio, being more amused by their commentary than the film itself.

When the movie was over, the small crowd that'd formed around them dispersed to get home and away from the wretched movie while the high school students sat there recovering from their laughs.

As they exited the theater, the twins hugged her and smiled warmly at her.

"We know you're probably mad at us.." Kaoru started, biting his lip.

"But we really had fun. Even if the movie was bad and the popcorn made Kaoru's stomach hurt.." Hikaru said, running a hand through his hair.

"Yeah sorry about that..." Haruhi looked at him apologetically.

He smiled back and waved it off. "Besides, it serves us right for dragging you out."

"But really... Thanks. We love hanging out with you." The red-heads said with an identical blush on their faces.

She adjusted her glasses self-consciously again. She looked down at her feet and smiled to herself. "Yeah. It wasn't that bad... To hang out with you guys. It was actually sort of fun."

"HARUHI?!" Haruhi spun around to see her father waving to her frantically.

She yelped and ducked behind the twins. "Hey guys, why don't we get out of here?"

"Huh?" They turned to face her and found her running away. They turned back at what could have possibly caused her to start running and immediately began chasing after her. Thank goodness her dad chose to wear his fancy heels that day.

"NOOOOO! HARUHIIII COME BAAACK! WHO'S YOUR DATE?" The three ran as fast as they could until they finally felt they lost their tail in a park a few blocks away.

Haruhi leaned against a tree, trying to catch her breath and the twins were bent over breathing heavily.

"I... think... we... lost him... guys..." Haruhi gasped.

"Y... Yeah.." Hikaru said, Kaoru nodding next to him. Neither wanted to become the professional's new punching bag, and that was their most probably fate if the man thought it was really a date.

"I... can't believe... he called it a date!" Kaoru shouted... Well as much as he could with the breath still avoiding his lungs.

Hikaru laughed. "Imagine that. A date with two boys and one girl!"

"Brothers!"

"Twins!"

The three broke into laughter and ignored the fact that it was very much like a date they were on.

They calmed down and began to wander around.

"So Haruhi... Why did YOU run from your dad?" Kaoru inquired.

"Surely it wasn't for OUR benefit. You let Tamaki get beat up all the time by your dad." Hikaru pointed out, the boys' curiosity increasing.

"Can you imagine the kind of scenarios my dad was imagining? I did NOT want to hear his little speech about 'safety'." Haruhi shivered. "And worse, what'd he think about me dating _two_ boys."

Hikaru and Kaoru stared at her. Did she just say she was dating them? And not only that, but _both_ of them?

She turned her chocolate gaze to them and blushed furiously. "I-I didn't m-mean it like that! It's just what my dad was probably thinking..."

The twins hid their smiles. They looked over at each other. They were _so_ going to be talking about this later on.

"It's alright Haruhi, we know how much girls love to fantasize about twins. Haven't you heard our speech?" They instantly went into what Haruhi called 'host-mode'.

She gulped and looked away, feigning her embarrassment for irritation. "God, you guys are giving me a headache. Why do you guys always have to look into everything I say and twist it around?"

"What are you talking about Haruhi? Are you telling us you've never once day dreamed about us?" They leaned into her in perfect unison.

She looked back over to them and stared straight into their amber gaze. "No."

That's a lie. She had, but only once. She'd been watching them during one of their 'brotherly love' acts and was wondering how anyone would be able to separate them and how if someone got married to one, they'd have to be married to both. It was an innocent little thought, nothing lemony or terrible. They'd just been getting ready in the morning. Kaoru was getting ready to fly to France for a fashion show and Hikaru was reading the paper at the table while eating one of Haruhi's pancakes. Haruhi herself had just finished cooking Kaoru his to-go breakfast and was kissing him at the door before he left and Hikaru was starting to dig into her breakfast. She'd laughed and let him have her breakfast, only to kiss his nose as his mouth was full and walk back to the kitchen, chuckling about 'how much I love those idiots'.

Completely innocent.

Except for the fact that they were both married to her and they were brothers.

Otherwise, very sweet and very innocent.

"Really?" They took a step towards her and she took a step back.

"Y-yes." Why was she stuttering?

"We don't believe you."

* * *

Okay, that's all I've got in me. It's probably the longest any of my chapters'll ever get.

And yes, I am going to make them all be together. I can't choose one so I'll just let them both have her! She doesn't mind, trust me.

Wow that sounds so wrong.

ERGH. So plz REVIEW! I'll give a cookie... after you come to the dark side of course.

Was the little daydream sweet or what? Really, I just love the way these guys act together.

LOVE YOU ALL PLZ REVIEW!


	4. What Happened?

Haruhi took a deep breath and entered the music room. She looked around and sighed in relief. Only Kyoya and Tamaki were there.

"Hey guys. What's the plan today?" Haruhi set her bag down and pulled out the new stock of coffee.

"Oh Haruhi!" Tamaki walked over to her and pulled a pink and lavender kimono from behind him. "Don't you think this is cute? Look at all the flowers!"

"Yeah, it's nice. I don't think lavender is your color though." She smirked.

"How could you say that?! My own eyes are purple!" He whined.

"So this kimono really is for you?"

"Eh... No. I wanted _you_ to wear it Haruhi." He said with a dejected tone.

"Yeah, okay." She pulled the kimono and went into the changing room.

The doors opened again and entered the two amber-eyed twins. "Hey boss. Did you get the kimonos we sent?"

"Yeah."

"Thank you again for letting us borrow your mother's designs. It really helps with the budget since you two give us a discount, and we end up with extra money for future events." Kyoya said, nudging Tamaki. "Now why don't you give them a proper thanks, _Daddy_?"

"Thank you." He mumbled. He turned and walked away to start setting up the room.

"What do you want us to do?" Kaoru asked.

"Since Haruhi is changing right now, you could help us set the flowers around." Kyoya said, writing something into his book.

"Haruhi's here?" They said in surprise.

"Yeah, she actually came early for once, isn't that funny?" Tamaki giggled. "My little Haruhi is finally learning to take responsibility for her punctuality!"

They smiled. They'd discussed this all night.

They were a little nervous about it, but they were willing to go for it. It was weird, but once they thought it out, there really was no other answer.

How else could both twins be happy?

All that was left was getting the bane and light of their existence to agree with it.

"Which design did you give her?" Kaoru inquired.

"The really pretty one with the flowers and that matches my eyes!" Tamaki squealed.

"It sounds kind of like you wanted to wear it." Hikaru teased.

"Hm... No, I think it'll look better on Haruhi." He determined after a moment of thought.

"Wow boss, we were kidding!" They laughed.

'Crap.' Haruhi thought at the sound of the twins' laugh chiming through her ears. She took a deep breath and stepped out of the changing room, pretending to be focused on the loose seam on her kimono's sleeve as she made her way over to the coffee table. 'Don't notice me, don't talk to me, don't do anything to me!'

She'd spent the whole day avoiding them. Coming late to class purposely so they couldn't speak to her, staying in the classroom with the teacher for lunch, and now, coming to the club early so she could leave early, leaving the twins to clean the room with Mori and Honey.

But they got here early too...

She looked over at the twins to see them walking into the changing room with two crimson kimonos with white lining and blue roses climbing the sleeves.

She would have expected them to see her by now and be bugging her.

Well, if they weren't bothering her, she was happy.

* * *

The twins had this game figured out.

'It's been an hour, no one's requested the twins yet and I've had long breaks between my guests. Why haven't they said anything to me yet?' Haruhi glared at the twins from her chair where they were looking intently at nothing. Every once in a while they'd say something to the other and the other'd respond, but other than that, they were doing NOTHING.

"And since when do they give up a chance to fluster the ladies?" She muttered.

"What do you mean Haru-chan?" Haruhi clamped a hand over her mouth and looked over at Honey.

"Oh it's nothing Honey!"

"Are you sure?" He smiled. "I know what it is!"

Her eyes widened and her face grew red. "You do?!"

"You need cake!" He ran off, probably to find her some cake, and left her sighing in relief.

"Why do I even care?" She asked herself.

"You should go talk to them." Honey said, causing her to jump. He handed her a plate with three slices of cake and smiled at her. "You can tell them I sent this cake to them, but that Usa-chan got some tea spilled on him so I asked you to do it!"

"So that's what you meant by I need cake." She said, wondering how she could forget that the little boy was actually a seventeen year-old prodigy and master mind.

"It's sort of obvious that you want to talk to them, you're always looking at them when you aren't with the girls."

"Hmm..." It's true. Her mind was filled with the twins. Why weren't they trying to talk to her after what happened? What even happened?Why does she want to storm over there? Why does she want to talk about it? Why does she want to hide at the same time?

WHAT HAPPENED?

All that happened was:

_"We don't believe you."_

_"W-what? Whatever, you can believe what you want, just leave me out of your wet dreams." She said with an irritated expression, trying to embarrass them by feeding them their own medicine.  
_

_"That was lame." Kaoru said with a blank expression._

_"Yeah, even for you Haruhi." Hikaru added._

_"Sh-shut up." Why is she stuttering? She NEVER stutters!  
_

_"So you DO think about us..." Hikaru began, getting too close to her._

_"And not just one of us..." Kaoru continued, getting just as close._

_They looked at each other from the corners of their eyes before placing their gaze to the red brunette in front of them. "But both of us..."_

_"I have no idea where you got ANY of that! I was just stating what my dad was probably thinking, being that he jumps to conclusions like Tamaki. He has wild ideas all the time!" She said, regaining her composure and facing them straight on. Her blush didn't disappear though..._

_And the twins noted that._

_So they shrugged and continued walking, until they realized she wasn't following. They looked back to see her on the floor gasping for breath. They smiled and continued walking, leaving her to her impure thoughts._

_Haruhi isn't impure, you can bet on that. Leave it to her to imagine a happy, boring breakfast with the two of them, instead of the filthy, censor-worthy fantasies the fangirls back at the school had._

_Nope. Just a cute little breakfast setting, with Haruhi's heavenly pancakes. And Kaoru and Hikaru on each side of her, talking animatedly with her.  
_

_But why was she gasping for air? Because she'd almost suffocated at their proximity. A girl can only hold her breath for so long..._

Nothing happened! So why did she feel like they should be talking to her about it, at least teasing her!

Why was she having such a dilemma!?

"That's it!" She growled. She trudged over to them, clenching the tray and forced a smile onto her face.

"Oh... Hey Haruhi." Kaoru greeted dismissively.

"Hm.." Hikaru acknowledged her.

"Hey guys! Honey sent me over with some cake, would you guys like any?" She asked with a way-too-cheery voice.

"Cake?" Hikaru turned to her and avoided her gaze. "Hm... Sure you could leave it here."

Her eyebrow twitched at his tone. "You know I don't serve you, right?"

"Actually, you do. Your debt made you the errand boy long before we made you host, and you still serve those duties." Kaoru said, taking a sip of his coffee. He was obviouly making a point since _she's_ the one that goes out and buys the coffee. And makes it.

She clenched her fists and set the cake down roughly. "What the hell guys?"

A few girls around her gasped and she remembered where she was. She can't do anything too rash, she still needs her reputation for the club. She needs to keep the girls on her side.

She took a deep breath and gave them a tight smile. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to burst out like that. I hope you can forgive me."

"Mm...Yeah." Hikaru shrugged and turned away from her. He was done with her.

Fine. They want servant? They get servant.

"Thank you, _sir._" She bowed slightly and backed away from them to go back to her seat.

Translation: _Game on._

_YEESH! This was a hard one! well, i like it! _

_please review!_


	5. Battles

A/N: grr, it sucks i know, spare me the insults. just... tell me what i can do to make it better... please...

"Hika?"

"I know..."

"I think we broke her."

"Yeah.. It seems like that." He turned to watch their girl bowing to Tamaki, who had a look of utter befuddlement.

Haruhi picked up her tray of tea, not coffee, and walked over to Kyoya. She bowed slightly and offered him a drink. He frowned and waved her off.

"Should we say something?"

Hikaru turned to his brother and shrugged.

Neither of them liked this. She was acting weird for the past two days, only making fancy tea, not speaking unless spoken to, adding 'sir' or 'sama' to each of the Hosts' names. They assumed this was all in response to their servant comment, and they felt inexplicably guilty.

But only one of them was willing to do something about it.

"Hikaru, I think we should say something."

"No. She's playing us, she's trying to get us to surrender first, but that's not going to happen." Hikaru ignored the brunette who was standing in front of the ladies instead of sitting and only replying with short, vague answers.

The ladies would have been upset if it was anyone outside of the host club, but they adored the boys here too much to think Haruhi's behavior as rude.

"Oh, Haruhi! You poor boy!" A short-haired blonde wailed.

"What do you mean, miss?" Haruhi inquired politely.

"You obviously are hurting!" A girl with freckles said loudly and forlornly.

"I don't understand." Haruhi said blankly.

"Who hurt you, my sweet Haruhi!?" A short girl with blue eyes demanded.

"No one, miss."

"It's okay, Haruhi! You can tell us!" The freckled girl declared.

"Yes, we're here for you!" A pink-haired girl said sweetly.

"I love you!" The blue-eyed shorty confessed, rather suddenly.

"Everything's fine, misses. Are you enjoying your tea? Is it to your liking?"

"Oh, Haaruuhiii!" They all wailed.

She stared blankly, right on through.

'Wow. Even when she's being dismissive all the girls love her.' Every single host thought with a bit of envy at her abilities. How could a girl influence more girls to like her than a man?

That hit their ego quite a bit.

"No matter! I'm actually curious, why do you ladies feel like Haruhi's been hurt?" Tamaki asked, his violet eyes widening with concern, his arms itching to pick Haruhi up and protect her from the world. "You haven't actually been hurt, right Haruhi?"

"Of course not, Suoh-sama."

He pouted. "Why are you saying 'sama'? What happened to 'sempai'?"

"Well, you are above me, sir. Very high above me, I might add. It's only proper to treat you to the proper title." She explained, looking him straight in the eye.

"Oh Haruhiii!" He wailed with the girls.

She withheld a sigh and continued to stand straight, waiting for someone to ask something of her. This was getting tiring, forcing herself to act respectful and lowering herself just to get the twins' attention. She actually told Tamaki he was above her!

She peeked out of the corner of her eye at the boys who were causing her all this frustration. They weren't even looking in her direction!

She groaned inwardly. Just how long was this going to last?

'Patience, Haruhi. You know what they're up to. You won't let them win.' Haruhi closed her eyes. 'I'm gonna need some help mom. You know I'm not good at this sort of thing.'

"Haru-chan!" Haruhi slid her eyes open and moved her brown eyes in the direction of Honey, who was motioning to her frantically. "Haru-chan! Over here!"

She walked over to his little table and he motioned for her to sit. She shook her head and he sighed. "You should just talk to them, Haru-chan."

"I already tried that, Honey! They decided to treat me like a servant so I'm acting like a servant." She confessed to her new confidant.

"I understand, Haru-chan. So I'll help you!" The young man declared.

She raised a brow before resuming her stoic disposition. "How exactly are you going to do that?"

"By doing this!" He pushed his cake in her direction, causing it to fall to her feet and create a giant mess.

The twins' eyes widened at the sound of glass and their heads whipped to the source. Tamaki was still wailing with the girls, and frankly, Kyoya didn't care. Mori was in on it and just smiled slightly.

"What the hell, Honey?!" Haruhi yelled.

"It's not my problem, Fujioka. You should clean it up, you do work for us after all." Honey said in a disinterested and loud voice.

The red-heads felt their teeth grind.

"What?! But you just threw that down yourself!"

"Are you arguing with one of your employers, Fujioka?" Kyoya asked, rather enjoying the plan he'd noticed the little blonde cook up. He's way too observant for his own good.

"Y-"

"Because you do owe us over five million yen. True, you've cut down your debt quite a bit, but you still have a lot to pay off."

"But-"

"Just clean it up, Fujioka, you were never dropped of your dog title."

They'd had enough.

"SHUT UP, YOU STUPID OOTORI." The twins yelled in Haruhi's defense.

"What right do you have yelling at Haruhi?! Sh-_He_ has been nothing but kind and amazing his entire time here!" Kaoru said.

"Sh-He's more of a man than you are, KYOYA!" Hikaru yelled.

"He hasn't done ANYTHING to you!" Kaoru shouted. "We never made him clean up before! We always let the custodians handle that!"

"And WE CERTAINLY NEVER MAKE MESSES ON PURPOSE JUST TO MAKE HIM CLEAN THEM!" Hikaru screamed at the short blonde.

"Maybe you treat your _servants_ like that, but Haruhi _isn't _your _servant_." Kaoru emphasized.

Haruhi stood,frozen in place from the twins' outburst. Then she smiled coyly. "I'll clean this up immediately, sirs."

She knelt down and began to clean up the mess whilst the twins stared at her in disbelief and confusion.

_What is wrong with her?!_


	6. We Cool?

A/N: TEEHEE this chapter is sorta kinda pointless and I don't think anything is flowing well and I'm feeling really insecure about my writing and AHHH!

Please tell me if I'm terrible, lying to preserve my feelings isn't helpful at all...

Love you all, please review!

Edit: Just a small edit... really no reason for it... seashell earrings...

* * *

Haruhi opened the door to her home and grinned at her dad who was waiting there with a pout on his face, his ruby-red lipstick glistening as bright as the tears in his eyes.

"Hey dad! How was your day?" Ranka's pout fell slightly, he followed her with his eyes, his gaze suspicious. But quickly a smile graced his face that his daughter was in such a good mood.

"Well actually, my day went really well! I went out and I bought myself this new dress that just looks- Wait a minute." Ranka walked over to Haruhi, trying his best to look like an intimidating... well, mother. "Haruhi, I got a call from those Hitachiin boys telling me that you were sick. Why didn't you tell me? I know you like going to Ouran, but a sick girl shouldn't be going in public, let alone working as hard as you do!"

She smiled at her dad while she opened a tea bag. "Dad, don't worry about me. I'm not sick."

"They told me you would tell me that!" Ranka declared unhappily. She turned on the stove and set the tea kettle down to turn to her dad.

"Dad, I'm telling you, I'm perfectly healthy!"

"Fine, if you're so healthy then... tell me what seven times four is!" Ranka said as though that would finally prove if Haruhi's in good health.

"How exactly is that supposed to tell you if I'm sick?"

"Sick people generally can't think straight! If you can answer the question correctly then the likeliness of you bei-"

"Twenty-eight." She turned back to her tea and began to lower the temperature on the stove so she could leave it on the stove while went to go call the twins for causing her so much trouble. She was used to her dad's crazy ideas and antics, but the fact that _they_ caused this irritated her greatly.

"That's not fair! You had time to think about it! Let's do a new one, you have three seconds to answer it... Nine plus seventy!"

"Seventy-nine." She walked out of the kitchen, making her way to her room for some much-needed privacy. She really didn't feel like answering an oral first grade math test from her dad. She may be what most call 'boring' but this definitely wasn't was she considered 'fun'.

"Wait! I forgot the question I asked... okay I have a new one! Haruhi, don't close your door on me! Daddy's trying to see if you're okay!" He whined.

"Dad, asking me grade-school math questions isn't a way to determine if someone is sick." She explained calmly. She walked over to her closet and pulled out her suitcase, the one that she had taken to Karuizawa, and shifted through some souvenirs she had yet to unpack since the club had basically forced them upon her and they were all completely useless and impractical. And in that suitcase was the cellphone she still had yet to use. Everyone had given up on trying to get her to remember to carry it around, but she knew where it was in case she desperately needed it.

She still wasn't quite sure why she felt she had to speak to them this very moment, but she told herself that it was to keep her dad from annoying her.

"Found it!"

"Haruhi! Forty-two times seven!" Her father yelled though the door. His questions were getting _somewhat_ harder, she supposed.

"Two-hundred ninety-four." She called, bored with his questions. She got a scholarship at Ouran Academy, for crying out loud. These questions are no where _near_ the level she was at.

"Sixty divided by twelve times four." Was he kidding?

"Twenty." She answered while scrolling down the contacts that Hikaru and Kaoru had added to the phone prior to gifting it to her.

"Fine, you win! I'm going to go grab my encyclopedia, we're moving on to history!"

She groaned as her phone dialed.

"Haruhi?" She shivered at the sleepy voice that made his voice a little huskier than usual.

"Hey, _Kaoru._" She said bitterly.

"I thought you lost your phone." He said with a little more clarity. She smiled at the yawn she heard after that.

"Why were you just sleeping?"

"I was tired, sue me."

"When I'm lawyer." She replied. "So, which one of you told my dad I was sick."

"Hikaru." Kaoru replied quickly. A little too quickly.

"Mm-Hm.. So why did you tell my dad I was sick anyways?"

"I said it was Hikaru!"

"What did you say, Kao?" Hikaru's voice chimed in the background.

"Nothing!" Kaoru replied loudly. He sighed into the phone. She giggled.

Wait. Giggled? Why did she giggle?

"Fine, you got me. But can you blame me? You've been acting really weird lately."

"I was only acting weird because you guys have been acting like real jerks!" She accused.

"We were only acting like jerks because... well.."

"Well what?"

"Ask Hikaru, it was his plan."

"Kaoru! Who are you talking to?" Hikaru called.

"Haruhi! Who are you talking to?" Ranka called from outside Haruhi's room.

"It's no one!" Kaoru yelled.

"It's Kaoru Hitachiin. He wanted to tell you that I'm not sick and you can leave me alone to do my studying." She said, putting Kaoru on speaker phone. "Go ahead, tell him before he starts spouting history questions at me." Haruhi said, opening the door to her room and holding the phone out so her dad could hear him.

"History?"

"Just tell him." She muttered.

"Mr., or Miss... Fujioka. I did not mean that Haruhi was sick in the sense of health. I was speaking metaphorically."

"Metaphorically?" Ranka asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. I meant she's twisted."

"Hey!" Haruhi yelled into the phone.

"Well you sort of are. You're supposed to be a girl, you know? Wear pink, love cats, wear make up, etcetera."

"Well, I wouldn't say she's twisted, but she really isn't like any of her female classmates at all. She really takes after her mom, but even Kotoko was more feminine than she is. For example, she used to put a large distance between hair salons and herself. She wouldn't let a pair of scissors even _near_ her hair, unless it was for a trim."

"Really? Did she happen to wear jewelry?"

"Yes, all the time. Not my Haruhi, though. I bought her these cut seashell earrings once and she refused to wear them."

"Really? You wouldn't happen to have them around still?"

"Quit talking about me like I'm not here." She muttered bitterly. "Say bye, Kaoru."

"Bye Haruhi's dad!"

"Goodbye Hitachiin! Feel free to call me Ranka! Haven't I told you before?"

"Bye dad, I'm gonna talk to Kaoru now." Haruhi removed speakerphone and turned back to her room, ignoring her dad's objections. She brought the phone back up to her ear. "Twisted?"

"What else was I supposed to say?"

"Hm.. Maybe just tell him you were lying?"

"And become his new punching bag? No way! That's what the boss is for." They both laughed at that one. "So is that all you called me for, Haruhi?"

"Well..."

"Yes, Haruhi?"

"Well.. I.. Thanks."

"For what?"

"Telling my dad that. He was going to be annoying. I love him, but seriously..."

He chuckled. "I'm sorry... For everything, Hikaru and I teasing you, acting like jerks. And getting your dad to annoy you. I really am sorry."

"Try getting Hikaru to say that."

"But I'm sure he's sorry too." She supposed. Hikaru did have a hard with apologies.

"Hey Kaoru?"

"Yeah?"

"I... Would you and Hikaru like to do something sometime? I mean, I want to make sure we're all cool, you know?"

A pause. "Of course. Should I call him in?"

"No it's okay, just come over to my house anytime tomorrow. I don't have anything to do, unless you two are busy.."

"No! No. We'll come over tomorrow..."

An awkward pause.

"Well. Great! See you guys tomorrow! And stop calling my dad, it's creepy enough that Kyoya has a whole relationship with him, I don't need you guys feeding him information."

"Yeah, yeah. It won't happen again. Probably."

"Probably?"

"Bye Haruhi!"

"Wait a sec-"

He hung up!


	7. What's the Catch?

A/N: Oh my god, it's been forever since I updated this. I am soo soo sorry. And it's a short update at that, gah I'm terrible. Here, next chapter'll be three thousand words... Or two and a half. It'll be long, I promise. And it'll come soon. I just... I've been stuck and :P

Sorry :''(

Edit: I'm going through my chapters and repairing any Haruhi OOC-ness I see so there may be teeny little changes if you're re-reading this.

* * *

Kaoru hung up the phone and chuckled. She was just too much fun to mess with!

Hikaru came out of the restroom where he'd been taking a bath and was in only his boxers with a towel on his head. He glared at his brother half-heartedly. "Who were you talking to, Kao?"

"No one." Kaoru grinned humorously.

"Why are you lying to me?"

Kaoru shrugged. "It's funny when your face gets as red as your hair."

Hikaru huffed and collapsed on the bed, snatching the phone from his brother. He looked at the calls and his eyebrows rose. "You called Haruhi?"

Kaoru shook his head and smiled even more. "Even better, _she_ called _us_."

Hikaru smiled. "Really? Why'd she call?"

"Actually, it was because I called her dad and told him Haruhi's been overworking herself and getting sick." Kaoru admitted. "Her dad went a little nuts with that information when I told him."

Hikaru burst out laughing only managing to gasp out a few words. "And... What... Happened?"

Kaoru shrugged. "She said something about history questions. Her dad is _way _too much like the boss."

Hikaru shuddered. "Thank god Haruhi didn't adopt that behavior."

They both took a moment to imagine that situation, then shuddered in unison. It just didn't fit her.

Kaoru snapped out of it and leaned towards his brother to get his attention again. "But get this, Hikaru. She invited _us_ over to her _house_."

Hikaru raised his brows. "You're kidding."

"Nope." Kaoru said victoriously, popping the 'p'.

"Today?"

"Nah, tomorrow."

Hikaru stiffened. "One problem, Kao. Don't you remember that mom set up a meeting with the Yoshida family?"

Kaoru groaned and shook his head. "No, I forgot. I got excited, it totally slipped my mind."

Hikaru looked up at his brother hopefully. "You think we could back out of it?"

"The meeting? No, mom would be pissed. She planned it weeks ago." Kaoru said, as the memory of their mother explaining it to them finally cleared up in his mind.

"Could we bring Haruhi?" Hikaru asked, deciding he just wanted to spend time with her.

"I don't think she'd appreciate it. She'd have to.. get... all... dressed up." Kaoru and Hikaru grinned. Kaoru began to walk away. "I'll go ask mom."

"I'll call Haruhi." Hikaru said mischievously while dialing her number.

* * *

Haruhi sighed as she fell back on her bed. "I thought I had more homework."

Alas, no. She'd finished all her assignments during lunch in the classroom. Why did she have to be such a good student?

Now she's stuck with nothing to do.

She bit her lip in anticipation of tomorrow. What would they do? She didn't have the faintest idea of where to take them or what they'd want to do. Or what they'd be expecting. What if they thought she was boring? What if they ditched her?

Oh god, what if they thought it was a date and she flaked on it?

Wait. What is she thinking?!

She groaned at herself and rubbed her eyes in exasperation. "I'm acting stupid. Why do I care if they think it's a date? I know it's not, so what does it matter?"

She heard a buzz and shot up from her relaxed position. She spun her head around trying to fine the source, then finally noticed that her phone was on and moving slightly on her desk. Weird. She stood up and walked over to the desk, picking up the phone to see who was calling her. It said 'Kaoru'.

She clicked the answer button and smiled as she brought the phone to her ear. "I thought you just hung up on me."

She heard snickering on the other side and her brow raised. "Oh, sorry Hikaru, I thought you were Kaoru. It was his name on the screen."

Hikaru gasped on the other side. "Seriously, you are amazing Haruhi. You could really tell me apart from my twin by my laugh."

"Technically it wasn't a laugh, it was a snicker. And why are you so surprised?" Haruhi said, glad that he couldn't see the pleased smile that'd appeared on her face when he called her amazing. She was too used to their mocking. "Why are you calling?"

"Well I didn't find it fair that my brother got to talk to you and I didn't."

"I don't buy it. What's going on?"

"Fine, you know how you made plans, _without me,_ so Kaoru and I would come over tomorrow?" Hikaru paused waiting for an answer. She chuckled and hummed an affirmative at him. "That's not what I was looking for Haruhi. I was looking for, 'Oh, I'm so sorry Hikaru, I hope you'll forgive me for-'"

"What do I have to apologize for? You were acting like a jerk earlier and I didn't expect you to get over it like your brother." Haruhi answered honestly.

Hikaru stuttered for awhile before mumbling out a feeble, "Sorry about that.", and moving on to his business. "Anyways, Kaoru _forgot_ that he and I actually have plans tomorrow."

Haruhi's shoulders slumped in disappointment. She didn't quite know why, the whole point of the get-together was to know they were all cool again. They both had already confirmed that by speaking to her like they normally did, with their mocking and jokes and casual tone of voice. "Oh, okay. I guess it's okay, you guys are rich, it makes sense that you'd have plans."

Hikaru chuckled. "Yeah, it's cause we're rich. It has nothing to do with our mom wanting to show us off to her old lady friends."

Haruhi smiled slightly. "Yeah, okay. You two aren't accountable. Next time make sure you guys are available before making plans. It's rude otherwise."

"Hey, it was Kaoru, not me."

"Yeah, okay."

"Besides, we came up with a compromise." Hikaru said. She could hear the grin in his voice and was not at all comforted by it.

"Wow, look at you. Being all thoughtful and coming up with solutions." Haruhi smiled at Hikaru when he huffed.

"I can be thoughtful when I want to!" Came the indignant reply.

"Sure you can. So what's this compromise? I'm intrigued to hear what you two came up with."

"You come with us. To our meeting. I mean, Kaoru's asking mom right now if you can go, and it'd be so much more fun with you there. With you there, it'd be more bearable." Hikaru said.

Haruhi furrowed her eyebrows. "What _kind_ of meeting?"

"Like I said, mom's just showing us off to her lady friend. And her husband. And possibly their kids. I don't remember, do they have kids?"

Haruhi was suspicious. "Why do you want me to go?"

"Like I said, again, it'll be better with you there. These meetings tend to get really boring really fast. You'd be doing us a favor."

"What's the catch?"

"What catch? Really Haruhi, don't you trust us?" She stayed silent. He shifted uncomfortably. "Really, there's no catch."

"Why don't I believe you?"

"That's on you, I'm just putting the offer out there. You don't _have _to come."

She stayed silent, yet again, thinking things over. She didn't know what finally made her say it, but say it she did. "Sure, I'd love to go."


	8. Meeting the Parents!

A/N- :) I promised! And it's a really soon update too! :D

Edit: Due to an eye-opening review from sapphireanguill, I editted some of this chapter to try and fit Haruhi's obliviousness a little more. Still a bit OOC, due to bad writing on my part, but I hope I met expectations.

Haruhi, darn it! Start acting like yourself!

Haruhi?

Hello?

...

* * *

"You lied to me, Hikaru!" Haruhi grumbled, pulling at the hem of her dress.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know looking even more beautiful was a catch." Hikaru said, hiding his grin.

Currently, Haruhi was stuck in a knee-length maroon dress with spaghetti straps, a pleated skirt, and black lace along the top rim of the dress and the hem, black laced sandals matching the outfit wonderfully. Her face, although contorted into a scowl, bore a light layer of make up. Some gloss on her lips, some eyeliner and mascara, and some red eye shadow. They needn't put any blush, she was steadily supplying that on her own. Do not mistake this for embarrasment as the twins did, but understand this is a flush of _anger_ and _irritation._ The twins had pulled her along, as soon as she'd opened the door, causing her to nearly fall and _die _on the stairs. They'd pulled her into their spacious limousine and made her change behind a screen and did her make up against her will, stating that the people they were meeting were important and commoner clothes weren't decent enough for a family of the fashion business.

She'd reluctantly agreed to this fact, deciding it was too late to turn back and cancel.

The twins themselves were wearing identical suits to match. The coat and pants a deep maroon color and their crisp black dress shirts peeking out fashionable and lacking in ties. They looked... for lack of a better word, _hot._ Literally. Their flaming red hair seemed accented by their color scheme and their amber eyes seemed to glow like the embers in a fireplace.

Yet, the both managed to pull the look off differently. While Kaoru looked like a well-accomplished fashion designer, Hikaru managed to look like a renowned CEO. Both of them were very high class and fashionable-looking in their own way.

She didn't know how it made sense to her, but they looked incredibly different to her, while looking entirely identical.

"You look great, Haruhi. I don't know why you look so upset." Kaoru said, trying to reassure her.

"Yeah, it's not like you're going to be in front of a crowd of people. It's just lunch." Hikaru stated like she was being ridiculous.

"Exactly. It's _just lunch._ I don't see why anyone has to dress up like this, I mean what's the point?" Haruhi grumbled, slouching in her seat, but making sure her dress didn't ride up.

"Oh, come on. Don't you sort of feel glad to have a reason to dress up?" Kaoru asked with a small frown.

"Plus, you get to share a color scheme with _the_ Hitachiin twins. How privileged do you feel?" Hikaru nudged her with a smirk.

Haruhi scoffed. "So very privileged."

Kaoru and Hikaru chuckled both putting an arm around the back of Haruhi's seat. "Just relax, Haruhi. It'll be fun."

She bit her lip and nodded, flustered by their closeness and the fact that she could smell their cologne. It smelled strong, but completely _them._ It was a combination of cinnamon and pine. An odd scent, but still soothing to her. She furrowed her brow, musing about their scent before she realized that both twins had gotten out and Kaoru was holding a hand out to her while Hikaru snickered behind him. She blinked, surprised that they'd gotten to the Hitachiin residence so quickly, and grasped Kaoru's hand, allowing him to pull her up and out of the limousine.

"Are you okay, Haruhi?" Kaoru asked, his eyes displaying slight concern and contradicting the grin on his face.

"Yeah, you have a spaced-out look on your face." She turned to Hikaru to see the same look on his face. She smiled.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking." She brushed any wrinkles on her dress out and shrugged. "So, what now?"

Both twins were silent. They looked at her with an unreadable emotion playing through their features. Both of them quickly snapped out of it as soon as she snapped her hand at them, she was trying to get their attention and it worked. She wasn't being rude.

"Oh, yeah. We go inside now." They said, turning on their heels and marching off, Haruhi trailing behind with a hand to her mouth to keep back a triumphant grin and a soft gaze trained to their backs. Triumphant that _she'd _flustered _the _Hitachiin twins.

As soon as they walked up to the large cherry wood doors, they flew open allowing a slightly flustered woman to appear. Her eyes were slightly wide and were a darker shade of amber than the twins. She had very light red hair that was cut short, in a pixie-cut. She wore a very neat business suit, only the skirt, which was a very nice shade of turquoise, and work a silky-looking dark blue dress shirt. She had silver hoops dangling from her ears and several rings among her fingers.

Haruhi instantly assumed this was their mother.

"Hikaru, Kaoru! You're _three minutes_ _late._ Do you have any idea how worried your father and I were that you'd dropped out? I know you two don't like these luncheons, but both of you are going to have to learn..." She stopped her rant and smiled at the wide-eyed girl behind Hikaru and Kaoru. She stood a little straighter and brushed her skirt off. Between clenched teeth and a tight grin she leaned toward Hikaru and asked, "And who is this lovely lady?"

Haruhi stepped forward and plastered a polite smile on her face. She bowed a little. "I'm Haruhi Fujioka, Miss Hitachiin."

The woman's eyes widened. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around an unsuspecting Haruhi. "You're _Haruhi_! Yes, of course you are! Oh, just look at you. You look absolutely _gorgeous _in that dress. Your make up is very nice too, it's not too heavy, but still noticeable. I love the way you accented the black lace on your dress with your shoes, it's a subtle touch, but it definitely stands out-"

"Mom!" Both twins yelled with embarrassment. "Quit eyeing her like a sketch! She's not here for fashion advice!"

She looked at both of them before looking back down at Haruhi who had an uncomfortable look on her face. She smiled. "Oh, I'm sorry Haruhi. Bad habit. Or good habit. I guess it depends on the situation, right? By the way, I am Yuzuha, I'm Hikaru and Kaoru's mother as you have already surmised."

Haruhi smiled again and nodded. "It's the eyes. They're the same shape as theirs' and only a shade darker."

Yuzuha looked on with interest at Haruhi. She turned on her turquoise heels and said,"Well, let's go in, everyone's waiting."

Haruhi let out a breath. Hikaru and Kaoru turned back to her with smiles. "She likes you." Hikaru said.

"She approved of your outfit, which means she approves of you." Kaoru explained.

Haruhi shrugged and raised a brow. "Thanks? That's good, right?"

They nodded and pulled her along to the lounge where their mother was speaking animatedly with another woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and a forest green halter dress. She seemed a bit more reserved and was definitely a business woman. Someone who Haruhi assumed was her husband was standing behind the sofa with another man Haruhi presumed was the twins' father, although they looked nothing alike. What tipped her off was the way his eyes softened each time they found his wife and a subtle smile would play upon his lips.

Their father had a dark brown hair cropped even shorter that Yuzuha's and eyes so dark, they almost looked black. The man next to him had black hair and had slight stubble along his jaw, a pair of dark sunglasses hiding his eyes. Both men were stiff and reserved, only participating in small talk. Hikaru and Kaoru pulled her to a long sofa across from the women and sat her down in between them.

Yuzuha's eyes found Haruhi's and she smiled. She touched her friend's shoulder. "Alice, this is Haruhi Fujioka, she goes to school with my sons. Haruhi, this is Alice Yoshida. She's german, and she's just started learning Japanese for her husband, Akio Yoshida."

Alice held out her hand and Haruhi shook it with a polite smile on her face. "Hello, Haruhi, it's nice to meet you."

Haruhi could just barely make out what the woman said. She had a very thick accent. "Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Yoshida."

Yuzuha turned to Alice and said something in what Haruhi believed was German. Haruhi forced her jaw not to come down. Yuzuha sounded completely fluent when she spoke.

Hikaru joined in after Yuzuha finished speaking and Haruhi turned in shock. He sounded a bit choppier, but still! How come she hadn't known they spoke German?

Alice laughed and nodded. She turned to Haruhi. "You can tell twins apart."

Haruhi chuckled an nodded. "Yes, I can."

"Which is which, can you tell?" Alice challenged with a small smiled on her face. Haruhi turned to each boy only to notice each had quickly moved their part. She scoffed.

She pointed to her left, "This one is Kaoru." She pointed to her right, "This one is Hikaru."

Both boys grinned happily, glad that she had yet to mistake them no matter what lengths they went to. Yuzuha turned to her friend. "See, Alice. She's very observant."

Alice looked on at Haruhi with awe etched onto her face. She asked something in German, causing Haruhi to pause, the twins to laugh, and Yuzuha to roll her eyes at them. Yuzuha smiled at Haruhi. "She asked if you've thought about designing."

"M-me?" Haruhi blanched. She shook her head with a polite smile and nervous eyes. "No, I'm sorry, I'm not into fashion. I have no taste at all."

"It's true, I can vouch for that." Hikaru joked.

Kaoru turned to Haruhi. "No, you're pretty good at choosing outfits when you try."

Yuzuha grinned. "Sounds like Alice might be right. I should hire you before she gets the chance, right?"

Alice laughed with Yuzuha, having been able to follow most of the conversation. Akio seemed to have been interested in the conversation because he began to creep forward towards them. Alice patted Haruhi's hand reassuringly. "It's fine, I have no fashion either. My husband dresses me."

Akio's booming laughter echoed through the room, startling only Haruhi. "It's true, this woman will mix orange and purple together if I don't keep an eye on her."

Alice blushed and laughed after her husband pecked her cheek. "This my husband, Akio."

Akio looked at Haruhi with a calculating gaze before asking one question with a somber tone. "Horizontal or vertical?"

Alice slapped his arm. "Not now."

Haruhi rose an eyebrow. "I'm sorry?"

"Stripes, lines, horizontal or vertical?" Alice glared at her husband.

Haruhi looked down in thought. "I guess it would depend. I've seen that thick horizontal stripes can look really nice, and I've seen that thinner vertical lines also work for some people. I'll say my favorite stripes are going to have to be diagonal."

"And why's that?" Akio asked thoughtfully.

"They're different. Not an overused pattern. Not particularly rare, but rare enough. And it's nice if it's used right." Haruhi looked up to notice everyone's gaze on her. She raised her shoulders. "I told you, I'm not into fashion. I even tend to dress like a b-"

Hikaru elbowed her. "Wow, Haruhi that was some deep fashion talk right then."

She rubbed her arm. "Why'd you-"

Yuzuha squealed. "She's a gem! An uncut gem! Don't you just love her Kazuo?"

Yuzuha's husband smiled at Haruhi. Akio's laugh filled the room again. "Oh, this one's a keeper. She definitely has something."

"Oh, no I told you, I'm just-"

"Just take the compliment Haruhi." Kaoru advised by whispering into her ear, his breath causing her to shiver. It brought back bad flashbacks of Tamaki breathing into her ear... Yet this wasn't as uncomfortable. "They're not going to listen to you if you object."

Haruhi nodded. "Thank you Mr. Yoshida."

"Call me Akio. You know, you really should stick with the Hitachiins. That's where the money is, they're huge practically everywhere. Especially Japan." He said with a wink.

"Oh no, Akio, your label is definitely as big as ours. I've been to your premieres, don't brush off your family's talent." Yuzuha brought her hand up to her chin in thought. "Speaking of family, where's your daughter? Mei, correct?"

Akio let out a breath. "I don't know how to talk to that girl. She's been holed up in her room for weeks, just sketching. I gave her our current Summer collection and she's just been a whirlwind of ideas."

"I wish my boys were that dedicated. I give them a project and what do they do? They draw up a few ideas then they're done. They don't explore the possibilities." Yuzuha said, cutting a glance to her sons.

"That's because we don't need to explore, mom. We know what'll go big." Hikaru said with a confident grin.

Kaoru copied his look. "Hasn't each design succeeded?"

"Not the one with the ribbons." Kazuo spoke up with a small smirk.

Yuzuha gasped with recognition. "That's right! Your twelfth design, I think it was. You two went crazy on the ribbons."

Kaoru groaned. "How many times to I have to tell you that was Hikaru's idea?"

"You can tell me as many times as you want, I still won't believe you." Yuzuha teased. Haruhi smiled. This was definitely their mother. No one else could be as quick with their retorts as the twins' unless they were directly related. Or, if they were Haruhi on a good day.

"Miss? Lunch is ready." They all turned to see two twin maids with black hair at the door. Haruhi 'fondly' recognized them as the two who often end up dressing her when Hikaru and Kaoru are being devious.

"Ah, time to discuss business then." Akio said, pulling his wife up by the hand as Kaoru had done earlier for Haruhi. They all walked to the dining room where Haruhi was forced to sit between the twins again. Yuzuha sat across from Haruhi and Kazuo across from Hikaru. Alice sat across from Kaoru and Akio left of him.

"Business?" Haruhi asked Hikaru quietly.

He turned and whispered to her. "Yeah, the Yoshida's want to merge our companies together, they gave mom a deadline to decide and the time's up. We've been friends with the Yoshidas for a long time, and she knows she doesn't want to merge but doesn't quite know how to break it. That's why Kaoru and I are here. We're like a cheer squad."

Haruhi nodded. "Okay. I still don't know why I'm here."

Kaoru nudged her and she turned to him. "You're _our_ cheer squad, and hopefully by having a stranger here, any conflicts could be avoided."

Haruhi bristled. "So you guys are using me."

"Nah, we only came up with that excuse after we invited you." They whispered together.

She rolled her eyes. Akio started talking as the lunch was being served. Only Haruhi thanked the maid for bringing the food, _go figure_. "So, Yuzuha. We've given you plenty of time to think about it and we'd like to hear what you have to say."

Yuzuha cleared her throat. "Well, it was a very appealing offer, but I think that I'll have to decline. This has been a family business for a very long time and I'd for it to continue to be so for generations to come."

"Understand that this is a one-time offer." Akio warned.

"Yes, I understand. And I truly am sorry that I have to decline. It's just not something I feel is right for my label." Yuzuha said calmly.

Akio took a deep breath and unbeknownst to Haruhi, his eyes flashed over to her and her position between the twins. He let out a sigh and let a small smile grace his face. "Alright. I understand Yuzuha."

Alice let out a chiming laugh filled with relief. "Okay, let's eat!"

Yuzuha and Haruhi joined her in laughing, the men only chuckling a little. Because they're _men._

They ate lunch quickly, only a few comments being thrown and soon, Alice speaking animatedly with Kazuo about stocks and such while Haruhi looked on with confusion, since everyone else understood. Soon, but not soon enough in Haruhi's mind, Yuzuha and Kazuo left the twins and Haruhi to escort the other couple out.

Haruhi let out a breath and rested her head in her hands. "That was incredibly awkward."

Kaoru nodded. "The decline always is."

"Always?" Haruhi asked.

"They always offer an extension and for her to continue thinking about it and the cycle begins again." Hikaru explained.

"You did great." Kaoru complimented.

"Yeah, they all love you." Hikaru stated.

"Just as much as we do." They both mumbled.

Her head shot up. "What?"

"Nothing!" They said a bit louder.

"Now, come on, let's go talk to mother." Hikaru said quickly standing up and holding out a hand to Haruhi.

Haruhi stared at his hand, having found an intimacy in it from the way Akio had raised his wife and Kazuo to Yuzuha. She shook her head at that absurd thought and continued to take his hand anyway, allowing him to pull her up. How can something like helping someone stand up be intimate? That's ridiculous. She grinned. "Let's."


End file.
